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Three months after Milwaukee introduced its newest additions at NPS18, we’re starting to see the first of those new products appear “in the wild.”

To be honest, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the event. Being a longtime ToolGuyd reader, I’d read plenty of coverage in years past, but I honestly wasn’t prepared for the experience. Someday, I’ll share some rambling thoughts from my maiden voyage but until then, I thought this would be a good time to look at my own personal Top 5 New Tools from the event.

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But first, a little disclaimer…

I am *not* a tradesman. Nor am I anything close. I have no background in science, engineering… heck, I can barely do math. I like to pretend I’m some kind of hybrid woodworker/carpenter/maker but in reality, I’m just a baseball writer from Milwaukee who has a lot of tools and likes buying more tools, but doesn’t produce nearly enough things to warrant his investment so far.

That said, I do find myself at a crossroads in terms of tool needs and to-do lists. After my mother passed away in December 2015, I wound up moving into her home – my childhood home – which I get the pleasure of cleaning, repairing, gutting, and rebuilding so it can be sold to settle the estate or, by some miracle, become my own.

So at each session, I paid special attention to the tools I could use to accomplish those tasks, and while Milwaukee is undoubtedly not designed, engineered, produced or even marketed to your average weekend warrior/DIYer, good tools are good tools and I knew Milwaukee would have what I need.

With that out of the way, here are my top-five new tools from NPS18, along with a few honorable mentions.

M18 Fuel Cordless Table Saw

Two years ago, I followed the rumors leading up to that year’s event and then consumed every word of coverage from it as Milwaukee announced their brushless M18 miter saw.

At the time, my “shop” was my patio in the middle of Downtown Milwaukee (actually just two blocks from that year’s NPS venue) and cordless wasn’t a matter of convenience; it was a necessity as the two outlets I had to work with also ran half the lights in my condo.

Fast forward to the present, and I finally have a garage, but the power situation is just as untenable. I found this out the hard way last winter as I tried to finish some Christmas presents, only to blow a circuit every five minutes. I finally gave up, gave in and bought Dewalt’s FlexVolt cordless table saw and for the most part, it’s done the job adequately.

The Dewalt FlexVolt cordless table saw was certainly capable enough for my needs, but the lack of a second miter slot makes using a sled or jog difficult, and the world’s most absurdly maddening switch cover has sent me into a profanity-laden fury on more than one occasion.

Milwaukee has addressed both those issues in their new M18 Fuel table saw, and included dado blade capabilities. Plus, it runs on the batteries I already have.

Stuart has already taken a quick look at the saw and fortunately for him, his garage is a long ways from mine or I’d be out there using it daily.

M18 Fuel Brushless 3-in-1 Vacuum

It’s almost embarrassing how many vacuums I own. I’ve got a Dyson DC41 upright vac that sees a lot less use now that I have hardwood floors, an older bagless upright that mainly gathers dust, two Ridgid shop vacs, and Milwaukee’s compact cordless canister vac.

What amazed me the most about this vacuum was how quiet it was. I have a decibel meter on my phone and it checked in around 71 decibels. That’s especially great if you have a shop dog who hates vacuums, a tenant or neighbor who likes to complain, or just don’t like any extra noise.

With the amount of cleaning on my plate over the next few months, the thought of a lightweight and powerful machine that will suck the filth out of the rafters, dirt out of the corners and everything else in between is appealing. Especially if its portable and doesn’t require me to drag my 16-gallon Ridgid all over the basement.

If it picks up dog hair as well as it picks up sawdust and construction debris – the brand manager got a good laugh when I asked that very question following his spiel – I’ll be in heaven.

Compact Brushless Drill & Impact Driver

Milwaukee updated its already-impressive M18 Fuel drill (pictured above) and impact drivers, and they were pretty impressive. But my arsenal already includes the last-generation of M18 and M12 brushless hammer drills and impact drivers – both of which are more than capable for my needs.

Lately, though, I’ve found myself wanting to add an inexpensive yet capable third set. I keep the M12 in the house and the M18 in the garage, but I’d like something I can throw in the truck when I’m running to help someone with a project or working in the basement but not wanting (READ: too lazy) to run up the steps and out to the garage; something that will tackle a little bit of everything.

These are by far not Milwaukee’s best-in-class or highest-spec’ed, powerhouse offerings – the M18 Fuel and Brushless hammer drill fit those categories – but this little number seems like the perfect “everyday” option, falling right between the two sets I already use.

M18 Fuel Brushless Chainsaw

As soon as I saw this one, my mind immediately pictured the massive, overgrown lilac tree in my backyard, the overgrown and beyond-saving hedges outside my front window, and the 60-foot pine tree in my front yard that has been threatening to topple over into a major city arterial since I was 14.

So … a chainsaw that runs on my existing battery platform? Absolutely, I want one.

M18 Fuel Jigsaws

I spent a long time trying to come up with a colorful and entertaining way to describe my frustrating history with jigsaws, but it was fruitless… similar to my attempts at finding a good jigsaw.

I’ve tried a lot of cordless different jigsaws over the years and none have impressed me. In fact, my least favorite tool in the shop right now is Milwaukee’s M12 version. It’s underpowered, awkward, I can’t see down the cut line… it’s just not a very useful tool. I’ve used it three times and once it was because I needed to trim down some scrap so it would fit in my burn pit and it was literally the first cutting tool I saw.

I’m willing to give either the D-handle or barrel-grip options a try — if only for the blower alone.

M12 Heated Gear

This year, Milwaukee added USB-rechargable heated work gloves, which I know my friends in TV news are going to purchase in bulk, and redesigned the core offerings, featuring lighter-weight material with more insulation that’s supposed to distribute heat three times faster than previous models.

My friends like to joke that I’d buy anything that says “Milwaukee” on it, but when it comes to heated gear they’re not entirely inaccurate.

I live in Wisconsin. It’s cold in Wisconsin, even when it’s supposed to be warm. And when I’m not covering baseball, I’m usually freezing my rear end off covering high school football or soccer. I love my Milwaukee heated jacket. And my Milwaukee heated vest. And hoodie.

You get the point.

On “Seinfeld,” George Costanza said he’d drape himself in velvet “if it were socially acceptable.” I feel the same way about Milwaukee’s heated gear.

Spend a winter in Wisconsin, and you would too.

Honorable Mention

I’d been waiting forever and a day for the M18 cordless sander. In fact, it was supposed to be my 40th birthday present to myself. I finally saw it at NPS and picked one up a few weeks ago. I’m a big fan and will have a write-up soon.

Blades were always something I’d cheap out on, no matter how nice the tool, but I’ve learned my lesson and am curious to see if Milwaukee’s new circular saw blades are as good as advertised.

Milwaukee also expanded its lighting line significantly. I’ll be adding quite a few as I start rebuilding my house and work my way around the various issues I’ve already discovered in terms of lighting and wiring. My buddy lent me one of the original Rocket lights and it pained me to return it.

There was decent selection of new and updated measurement and layout offerings from Empire, which I also hope to get my hands on and for more in-depth review soon. Speaking of measuring and layout, Milwaukee’s new auto-locking tape measures were pretty impressive, too. In fact, there seems to be a pretty wide variety of new tapes coming out and as someone who owns eleventy tape measures but can never find one when he needs one, I will purchase them all.

Stuart’s Note: You might want to wait until the next Home Depot promo, where you can often buy two Milwaukee tapes for the price of one!

And, lastly, along with the new gear, consider me a big fan of the Milwaukee Trucker Hat. There’s nothing earth-shattering about it but as a guy who likes hats, Milwaukee tools. and his home town… I’ll wear that thing daily. And I’ll apologize in advance for the ridiculously-large self-portrait.

So there you have it. My top five must-haves that will actually serve a purpose, plus a few more “OK, I may not need it but I sure as heck want it” offerings.

30 Comments

Nice list. As to the jigsaws, do not use a Bosch or your others are likely to gather dust. Of course I speak to the corded variety like my old 1587 or its newer equivalent the JS470E. And the even more powerful JS572E. Both can be had in a barrel grip version with a ‘B’ on the end of the model number. I have never used a better jigsaw.

I only bring it up because your comments about jigsaw frustration sound…just like me. I had used them all at our work. DeWalt, Hilti(one of the WORST and I am a Hilti fan), Milwaukee. None of them held a candle to the Bosch for smoothness and accuracy. Now I understand your needs are the cordless models and I hope if you get one you will come back and give us a bitmodfma review. Same for the tablesaw. I still cannot get my head around corldless tablesaws. I have this image of cutting about three boards and the saw going to sleep from lack of battery capacity. Thanks for the nice article.

Framer Joe, I would love to try both those brands just to see. Festool has a good rep but I am only peripherally aware of Mafell. My old Bosch has done superior duty with loads of power and surprisingly for a handheld saw, accurate cuts. Means doing my part though. You have to match blade to matetial and rate of cut.

I have the festool triton and it’s a monster, I know the carvex is the new model but the triton is definitely legit.
If I did. It have the festool I would get a Bosch or makita due to its small size so useing a Collins coping foot is preferable on the makita.
Just my 2 cents.

Flotsam, I have not really payed much attention to the newer ones but my old 1587 has a speed wheel integrated into the trigger. It is labeled A, B, C, D, & E. Even though there are five letters, there are at least six detents in the wheel as you turn it. Each step is trigger variable within each range on the dial. As you go up the alphabetical scale you gain stroke speed.

Each step from A through D is equidistant from each other. The final setting of E is about 1/4 inch further apart from D. This is the full range of rpm for the motor. Sounds clumsy but in practise it is not. And the dial is really not noticeable under your trigfer finger. I will never get rid of this saw for as long as it works.

They were showing off new RedLink Nano cybernetic “intelligence hardware and software” implants in the next room but pulled the WiFi after interference caused the test subjects to start beeping. Someone converted the beeps to binary code and then text and realized it spelled out a repeating pattern about NetSky, or something like that. They pulled the WiFi and it fixed the problem. They later found out it wasn’t interference but a massive transfer of data. I’m sure it’s nothing.

Interesting -I guess another new contributor. I’m intrigued by the jig saw and while I’ve not thougt too much about getting a cordless one – mostly on the cost angle I do see the appeal.

I almost cut the cord on my current one the last outing with it. I do think I want a barrel grip one though. and while I like that milwaukee made one the look of it with a larger battery on the back side looks unbalanced and tippy. SO I’m curious as to how that will perform against something like the Bosch barrel grip job.

wasn’t aware the flexvolt tablesaw only had one runner in it – odd. I don’t want a cordless table saw or rather I’m waiting for them to admit they screwed up and put out a 2 battery flexvolt with AC adapter 10 inch saw. since they should have done that – or hell even a 12 inch table saw. imagine that. (blade commonality with the other mitre saw is the reason I mention it)

I’ve never understood the blade commonality thing with chop and table saw. They’re different types of blades best suited to a particular saw. Besides, do people actually switch blades between the two machines?

Solid company Milwaukee is,but no where near the quality and power that the dewalt line has…for.a homeowner ok I guess…never see the point in buying Milwaukee tools for carpentry/framing other trades ,yes great tools….

The truth of the matter is that, theirs always gonna be Ford guys, Chevy guys & Dodge guys. Don’t know a whole lot of guys that switch over. Although I’m sure theirs an exception to the rule with some guys!!

Count me as one of those guys that “switches over”. No one brand to me makes the best of everything so I have all the colors; Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee, Makita, Hilti, Hitachi, Ryobi (the odd ball but useful things they make; air inflator, jobsite fan, bluetooth speaker, hot glue gun) , and one Panasonic drill. It used to annoy me having to have so many different batteries and chargers but I got over it. If I had to go with one brand because I was forced to I would go with Makita, followed by Hilti, then Dewalt / Milwaukee tied last.

The M12 cutoff tool is up there on my list, I think it’s a bit overlooked and underrated. If it can cut drywall at thickness exactly, with the dust shroud, that’s huge. The drywall blade on a hackzall still pokes behind the drywall, and is a dusty mess. Even the rotary drywall cutout tool is a dusty mess, and I think better suited to following a box than cutting a large section. Plus it still sticks out behind a bit, so it’s harder to stay on top of studs and not get jammed up, but still cut all the way through. I’m thinking for like cutting out larger sections of drywall for repair, or for fixing plumbing or similar applications. The closest I can think of is the Makita XDS01Z (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L8O0C90/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_iTXCBbEZV1BMF). The M12 Cut off seems like it would make a breeze on those kinds of large straight cuts, and do so with less mess than current Milwaukee options.

Also the M12 rocket light, super excited for that. My only complaint with my M18 one (other than replacing the plastic clamp collar) is how big it is, sometimes I more just need a light that I can elevate by itself, but don’t need one that big or bright. One example could be camping. My small tent doesn’t have exposed poles or anything to hang a light from, and doesn’t like heavyish stuff jury rigged to it anyway. Or even sitting in a chair outside, if I want to read, a headlamp is about the only option to get light on the book. Diffuse light inside the tent from a floor-level light isn’t enough for me to read by anymore. The M12 can still get off the floor to enable those things, but saves on size and weight. Plus in general for anything I like carrying M12 tools with me more than M18 unless I really need the 18V, so it fits in very nicely.

I agree, but 3 1/4! DeWalt has a new 20V framer that changes the 30 degree magazine to 21 degrees and goes for aluminum instead of plastic, but supposedly it still has mostly the same guts. I have had more issues recently with my current dewalt not sinking nails fully than I used to, so was really hoping for a new version that fixes some of the power issues. If Milwaukee came out with an 18V framer that’d be a bonus, I really like my 15ga angled, and M18 are the batteries I’m usually taking with me anyway if I’m doing that level of stuff. I love the dewalt cordless nailer I have now for doing blocking and framing at habitat for humanity, with a couple reasonable people we can get a whole house blocked in the time it takes another house to finish the kitchen. Taking a compressor and running my milwaukee 7100 is cool with the contractors working the site who want to come over and use it, but not so much with the volunteer coordinators who say things like liability and other such words. But somehow they have less problem letting us use a cordless nailer, just say be careful and don’t let other people use it if they don’t know how… Sure beats pounding nails in by hand with wimpy hammers between studs, and half the time people who can’t swing a hammer and takes 10 hits to get it most of the way in and then bend the nail. The little M12 palm nailer is also worth its weight in gold on those sites and fun to watch people who’ve never seen anything other than a hammer before use it (after a little instruction).

I use M12 jigsaws to build boats. I’ve built a couple of 16′ rowboats (hundreds of linear feet of cutting, and complex joints) using almost no other tool, and more boats where it supplemented my 18″ bandsaw and power and handsaws. It is also useful when cutting and fitting things out on the water. It works great. It is very accurate, non-tiring, and agile, perhaps all just because it is low-powered and lightweight. I would say it is more accurate, less-tiring, and more agile than all the other tools I might use for the same tasks. This may be one of those simple tools that perform better when you’ve used it a lot, and your hands know what it is going to do.